Amidst all of the discourse surrounding the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium, which was a notable issue during the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Week 6 win over the Cleveland Browns, Ben Roethlisberger has chimed in with his opinion on how to remedy the issue.
Jan 16, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half in an AFC Wild Card playoff football game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Though it’s easier said than done, Roethlisberger believes the easiest fix is for the University of Pittsburgh, whose football team shares a facility with the Steelers on the South Side, to build their own stadium on campus as opposed to playing at Acrisure.
“You can’t have a professional football team, not just the Steelers but the opponents, play on a surface like that,” Roethlisberger said on his “Footbahlin” podcast. “Because you’re paying them a lot of money and if people get hurt, it’s not a good thing.
“And the only thing I can think of is, and I’ve been saying this for a while, I don’t think Pitt should play there anymore. I understand there are high school games, like the playoffs play there. That’s not a big deal. Concerts, things like that.”
Several Steelers players, including Aaron Rodgers, came forward and publicly complained about the quality of the field after the team defeated the Browns, and for good reason.
Pittsburgh lost its special teams captain Miles Killebrew to what was described by head coach Mike Tomlin as a “significant” knee injury, and kicker Chris Boswell also slipped on a field goal attempt during the second half.
Those problems can’t persist moving forward considering the danger they present to players on both teams, which has sparked such a heated debate in the aftermath of the contest.
Fans wait to enter the stadium before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Pittsburgh Panthers in Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.
Tennpitt0910 00085 / Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Both the Steelers and Pitt have played at Acrisure Stadium (previously known as Heinz Field) since it first opened all the way back in 2001.
The two parties are co-tenants at Acrisure, which is owned by The Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Because the venue doesn’t belong to the Steelers, they can’t simply dictate Pitt’s fate when it comes to playing the program’s games there.
While Pitt having an on-campus stadium for the first time since the demolition of Pitt Stadium began in 1999 would be ideal, there just isn’t a ton of room in Oakland to put one.
Where a stadium would go isn’t exactly the Steelers’ issue, but it is a roadblock in terms of figuring out how they could become the sole tenants at Acrisure Stadium.
Pitt hadn’t played at Acrisure for eight days prior to the Steelers’ Week 6 game, so there truthfully aren’t any excuses as to why the field was in as poor of a condition as it was. It’s not like this is the only case where an NFL team shares its stadium with a college program either.
The field was being re-sodded soon after the Steelers clinched their win over the Browns, and Tomlin noted that the “turf is going to be swapped out” during his weekly press conference, so efforts are certainly being made to put any issues out of sight.
Regardless, it feels as though this conversation will continue to rage on for quite some time.